Squaw Valley 1960

The 1960 Olympic Winter Games were held in Squaw Valley, a remote site in the Sierra NevadaMountains, USA. When Alexander Cushing put forward the town’s bid to the International Olympic Committee in 1955, the resort did not even exist! He was the only inhabitant and homeowner in the whole place (300km from San Francisco and 1,900m above sea level). With absolutely no facilities, everything from skating rinks to ski runs, lifts and lodging had to be built from scratch.

Key Facts

Opening date:

18 February 1960

Closing date:

28 February 1960

Host nation:

United States of America (USA)

Cauldron lit by:

Kenneth Charles Henry (speed skating)

Number of nations:

30

Number of athletes:

655 (521 men, 144 women)

Number of sports:

4

Number of events:

27

Medal Tally

Nations

1

USSR

7

5

9

2

United Team of Germany

4

3

1

3

United States of America

3

4

3

4

Norway

3

3

0

5

Sweden

3

2

2

0

Australia

0

0

0

Note: Medal tally as at end of Games

The organising committee refused to build a bobsled run because only nine nations had indicated an intention to take part. This created huge controversy prior to the Games. It was the only time that bobsledding was not included on the Olympic program.

For the first time, women competed in speed skating and the Soviet school teacher, Lydia Skoblikova clinched two of the medals. She became the first winter athlete to win six career gold medals.

Australia at these Games

Australia sent a much larger team to the 1960 Olympics, thanks to the presence of the only ice hockey team Australia has ever fielded. In total, 31 athletes attended the Games. This included Hal Nerdal, the only Australian ever to compete in the Nordic combined discipline. He finished 31st in the dual cross country skiing and ski jumping event.

Speed skater Colin Hickey represented Australia for the third time at an Olympic Winter Games. The "rink rat" from Melbourne finished 13th and 14th over the 500 metres and 1500 metres respectively.

Australian Olympians At The Games

Flag Bearers

Australian Medallists At The Games

No records found.

History

The 1960 Olympic Winter Games were held in Squaw Valley, a remote site in the Sierra NevadaMountains, USA. When Alexander Cushing put forward the town’s bid to the International Olympic Committee in 1955, the resort did not even exist! He was the only inhabitant and homeowner in the whole place (300km from San Francisco and 1,900m above sea level). With absolutely no facilities, everything from skating rinks to ski runs, lifts and lodging had to be built from scratch.

The organising committee refused to build a bobsled run because only nine nations had indicated an intention to take part. This created huge controversy prior to the Games. It was the only time that bobsledding was not included on the Olympic program.

For the first time, women competed in speed skating and the Soviet school teacher, Lydia Skoblikova clinched two of the medals. She became the first winter athlete to win six career gold medals.

A new sport, biathlon (a combination of cross-country skiing and shooting) was added to the Olympic program. The first race was won by Klas Lestander of Sweden.

At the age of 35, Finnish cross-country skier Veikko Hakulinen had already won two gold medals, but his most memorable Olympic exploit was yet to come. As the anchor of the Finnish relay team, he took off 20 seconds after Norway's Brusveen, winner of the 15km race. One hundred metres from the finish line, he took the lead to win by one metre.

Male speed skater Yevgeny Grishin gained victories in the 500m and the 1,500m, just as he had in 1956. By far the biggest surprise of the Games was the championship victory by United States ice hockey team, upsetting both Canada and the USSR.

Games Trivia

Instant Replay

During the men's slalom event, officials were unsure as to whether a skier had missed a gate or not.

They asked CBS-TV if they could review a videotape of the race. This gave CBS the idea to invent the now ubiquitous "instant replay."

Disney on Ice

Walt Disney was the Head of Pageantry for the Games. He organized 5,000 participants, including 1,285 instruments and 2,645 voices from nearby schools in California and Nevada. 2,000 doves were also released in the pageantry. The Games were officially opened by Vice President Richard Nixon.

The AOC is a non-government, not-for-profit organisation, committed to the development of youth and sport. It is our responsibility to select, send and fund Australian Teams to the Olympic Games.

This is achieved by the support of our sponsors, contributions from the Australian Olympic Foundation (AOF), fundraising at corporate events and the backing of State and Territory Governments who donate to our Olympic Team Appeal.

The Australian Olympic Committee thanks all of our partners for their generous support of the Olympic athletes.